Event Calendar

The Morgan Opera House proudly announces a Classic Chamber Ensemble performance featuring Lindsay Groves, cello, Edgar Tumajyan and Jonathan Hwang, violins, and Victoria Miskolczy, viola. Two pieces by Beethoven, the “Razumovsky” Opus 59 #2 and the “Harp” Opus 74 will be among the selections to be performed. The concert is free but donations would be appreciated. Masks will be required regardless of vaccination status. Made possible by a Finger Lakes Community Arts Grant.

For more information, please contact 315-364-5437 or morganopera@yahoo.com.

An octet, eight trombones, formed from the original Bones East ensemble will perform at the Morgan Opera House as part of the village Christmas in Aurora celebration at 2pm Saturday, December 4^th.   Those who enjoyed the 2019  performance featuring 26 musicians squeezed onto the Opera House stage know what a thrilling concert of Christmas and secular music  this promises to be.  William Harris, former principal trombonist with the Syracuse Symphony and music professor at Syracuse University and Onondaga Community College serves as conductor.

The concert is FREE, but donations for the King Ferry food pantry will be gladly accepted. Masks required regardless of vaccination status.

For more information, please contact 315-364-5437 or morganopera@yahoo.com.

Before joining forces, Riche & Rosie were well-established within the ‘Old Timey Music” world, a recognized genre of American folk music that pre-dates bluegrass and stretches back to the early years of the US.  The duo’s musical journey wandered through several different bands while they refined their skills and gathered a wide range of musical influences.  Richie and Rosie are proof of two things: the power and magic of two people making music, and that the universal messages that lie within their songs remain timeless and an honest connection with their audience. Suggested donation: $10.

An innovative musical performance featuring original selections from their recently released CD, “Exit 33”, as well as classic compositions. Chuck Lamb played with the Dave Brubeck Quartet for many years and Peter Mack has been a respected bassist playing with his own group and other nationally known musicians. Their music reflects the deep roots both artists have in upstate NY and is inspired by an ever-expanding vision of their shared musical expression described as “joyful, bright and magical.”

Suggested donation: $10

On December 3 at 1 PM, as part of Christmas in Aurora, the Bones East Octet, an eight piece trombone ensemble, will perform a family friendly holiday concert featuring popular Christmas music including Jingle Bells, The Twelve Days of Christmas and Silent Night, a few classical pieces and maybe some jazz at the Morgan Opera House. The group has performed at colleges, churches and community events and even to enthusiastic audiences at the Morgan Opera House. The eight trombonists range from semi-pros to talented students who volunteer their time and effort. The concert is free but monetary donations for the King Ferry Food Pantry are appreciated.  The Morgan Opera House, 370 Main Street, Aurora, NY, is handicapped accessible using the ramp on the Cherry Avenue side of the building.

Bones East Octet is fortunate to have William Harris, former principal trombonist with the Syracuse Symphony and music professor at Syracuse University and Onondaga Community College serve as conductor and Tom Camp as Arranger and Co-Conductor.
For further information contact Wayne Blann, fwayneblann@gmail.com

The Poplar Ridge Players’ annual production of the Shepherds’ Play (our 44th year!) will be based in Aurora—at the Morgan Opera House– showtime is 7PM on Saturday, December 17. Admission is free.

The Shepherds’ Play is a Medieval play preserved by an isolated community living on an island in the Danube River and not transcribed until the late 19th Century. Parts were handed down through families—something like that has happened with our group, consisting of your friends and neighbors. Like the wonderful Middle English Second Shepherds’ Play, it blends slapstick with reverence.

The Poplar Ridge Players are grateful to the Morgan Opera House and Aurora Free Library for making the great space available.

For more information call/text Chris MacCormick at 607-351-6864

Aurora’s very own Matt Haenlin brings his band, Little House Blues, to the Morgan Opera House, Saturday, July 29th at 8pm. The concert is free, but donations are welcome.

Based in Massachussetts, the band draws much of its inpsiration from the Chicago blues scene of the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s – iconic figures like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, James Cotton, Louis Jordan, John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson inform the spirit of their music. They interpret a range of standards from that period, honoring the inventors of the genre. But, they also play originals and covers of a few more contemporary surprises in a way that tries to sustain the essence of the blues: a good time, danceable antidote, however fleeting, to the feelings of self-doubt, weariness and despair so undeniably a part of everyday life, that are the blues as such.

Little House Blues is a collaboration of Bill Blatner on blues harp and vocals, Matt Haenlin on electric guitar, Nina Rossi on electric bass and Ben Sears on drums. They started jamming in the fall of 2017 and liked the chemistry so much that they just kept going, building a repertoire and beginning to perform publicly about a year later.
Featured in the band are: Bill Blatner, a journeyman blues harp player and singer who also performs with Blue Shade. Ace guitarist Matt Haenlin, co-founder of the band Cart Blanch, that enjoyed a huge following in Central New York and Boston in the 90’s and 2000’s. Fans of the band, She Said, will recognize local artist, musician and writer Nina Rossi holding down the groove on bass. Ben Sears is best known for his remarkable work as a painter and fine artist, bringing the same focus, professionalism and creativity to his drum work with Little House Blues.

Written and performed by Anna Marck and directed by D.B. Schroeder, “Women of the Watch, Keepers of the Light,” is an uplifting 45-minutes of music, laughter, and simple honest storytelling. Hosted by the Aurora Free Library

Returning to the opera house after 13 years!

Donations welcomed—$20 suggested.

The musical partnership between consummate performer Alasdair Fraser, “the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling,” and brilliant Californian cellist, Natalie Haas, spans the full spectrum between intimate chamber music and ecstatic dance energy. Over the last 16 years of creating a buzz at festivals and concert halls across the world, they have truly set the standard for fiddle and cello in traditional music. They continue to thrill audiences internationally with their virtuosic playing, their near-telepathic understanding, and thejoyful spontaneity and sheer physical presence of their music.

Fraser has a concert and recording career spanning over 30 years, with a long list of awards, accolades, radio and television credits, and feature performances on top movie soundtracks (Last of the Mohicans, Titanic, etc.). In 2011, he was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame. Haas, a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, is one of the most sought after cellists in traditional music today. She has performed and recorded with a who’s who of the fiddle world including Mark O’Connor, Natalie MacMaster, Irish supergroups Solas and Altan, Liz Carroll, Dirk Powell, Brittany Haas, Darol Anger, Jeremy Kittel, Hanneke Cassel, Laura Cortese, and many more.

This seemingly unlikely pairing of fiddle and cello is the fulfillment of a long-standing musical dream for Fraser. His search eventually led him to find a cellist who could help return the cello to its historical role at the rhythmic heart of Scottish dance music, where it stood for hundreds of years before being relegated to the orchestra. The duo’s debut recording, Fire & Grace, won the coveted the Scots Trad Music “Album of the Year” award, the Scottish equivalent of a Grammy. Since its release, the two have gone on to record three more critically acclaimed albums that blend a profound understanding of the Scottish tradition with cutting-edge string explorations. In additional to performing, they both have motivated generations of string players through their teaching at fiddle camps across the globe.